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While much of biology research suffers from a lack of reproducibility, no single factor has emerged as the driver of this problem. In a multi-lab study published this week in Cell Systems, researchers have attempted to reproduce the results of an assay in which cultured cells were treated with cancer drugs. Their lack of success highlights the role that technical variables play in the ability to repeat experiments.
“The key thing [is] raising awareness of this variability and the fact that a lot of it will be really difficult to control,” says Paula Bates, who works in cancer drug development at the University of Louisville and did not participate in the study. “It’s especially important for projects where there is a lot of data being collected and compared."
The work came out of the National Institutes of Health Library of Network-Based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) Program, a consortium ...
